SOCIETY OF AUTHORS TO ADMINISTER THE BAILEYS WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION

2017 longlist will be reduced from 20 to 12 titles

London, 5th September 2016: The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction is pleased to announce that the Society of Authors has been appointed as the administrators of the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.
The Society of Authors (SoA) – who administer a wide range of grants and prizes for writers including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, translation and drama – will be administrating the BWPfF with immediate effect.

The Society of Authors are taking over the role from BookTrust, the largest reading charity in the UK, who have administered the Prize since its inception but now have a concentrated focus on children’s books and reading.

Paula Johnson, Awards Secretary at the SoA, said: “We are proud and excited to be the new administrators of the prestigious Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. This exceptional award, celebrating excellence, originality and accessibility in writing by women, is a wonderful addition to our existing portfolio of prizes and we greatly look forward to our involvement in running and supporting it.”

The Society of Authors will be contacting publishers and inviting entries for the 2017 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction from Wednesday 7^th September – the deadline for all submissions is 5pm Friday 23rd September 2016.

Novels published in the United Kingdom between 1st April 2016 and 31st March 2017 are eligible for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2017. For full details of eligibility and instructions on how to enter, contact Paula Johnson at the Society of Authors on baileyswomensprize@societyofauthors.org.

Today the Prize also announces that, from 2017, the number of books on the longlist will be reduced from 20 to 12 titles. The shortlist of six titles remains unchanged.

Commenting on the changes, BWPfF Managing Director Harriet Hastings, said: “Reducing the number of longlisted titles means that we can give greater focus and increased marketing support to a smaller number of titles and greater visibility to the list as a whole.”

The 2017 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction will be awarded on June 7th 2017.

The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction is the UK’s most prestigious annual book award for fiction written by a woman. Established in 1996 to celebrate and promote international fiction by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible, the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction is awarded for the best novel of the year written by a woman. Any woman writing in English – whatever her nationality, country of residence, age or subject matter – is eligible.

For press enquiries, please contact Amanda Johnson:
Tel: 07715 922 180
Email: amanda@amandajohnsonpr.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

BAILEYS Women’s Prize for Fiction

• In June 2013, the Prize announced a new three-year partnership with Baileys, the world’s first cream liqueur, and is now known as the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.
• The Prize’s patrons are; Dame Gillian Beer DBE, Rosie Boycott, Liz Calder, Shami Chakrabarti CBE, Helen Fraser CBE, Fi Glover, Daisy Goodwin, Muriel Gray, Bettany Hughes, Paula Kahn, Martha Kearney, Jude Kelly OBE, Helena Kennedy Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws QC FRSA, Kirsty Lang, Sue MacGregor CBE, Sheena McDonald, Dame Jenni Murray DBE, Penny Perrick, Dame Gail Rebuck DBE, Miranda Richardson, Gillian Shephard, Baroness Shephard of Northwold, Ahdaf Soueif, Sandi Toksvig, Polly Toynbee, Joanna Trollope OBE and Lola Young, Baroness Young of Hornsey OBE.
• The Prize’s board comprises of Joanna Prior (Chair), Felicity Blunt (Company Secretary), Annie Coleman, Hannah Griffiths, Harriet Hastings (Managing Director), Karen Jones CBE, Louise Jury, Martha Lane Fox CBE, Nicola Mendelsohn CBE and Arzu Tahsin. Together they are responsible for the overall management and direction of the Prize and the sponsorship arrangements.
• The Prize’s Advisory Council comprises of Kate Mosse OBE, Clare Alexander, Jane Gregory, Susan Sandon and Carole Welch.
• Previous winners include Lisa McInerney for The Glorious Heresies (2016), Ali Smith for How to be Both (2015), Eimear McBride for A Girl is a Half-formed Thing(2014), A.M. Homes for May We Be Forgiven (2013), Madeline Miller for The Song of Achilles (2012), Téa Obreht for The Tiger’s Wife (2011), Barbara Kingsolver for The Lacuna (2010), Marilynne Robinson for Home (2009), Rose Tremain for The Road Home (2008), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Half of a Yellow Sun (2007), Zadie Smith for On Beauty (2006), Lionel Shriver for We Need to Talk About Kevin (2005), Andrea Levy for Small Island (2004), Valerie Martin for Property (2003), Ann Patchett for Bel Canto (2002), Kate Grenville for The Idea of Perfection (2001), Linda Grant for When I Lived in Modern Times (2000), Suzanne Berne for A Crime in the Neighbourhood (1999), Carol Shields for Larry’s Party (1998), Anne Michaels for Fugitive Pieces (1997), and Helen Dunmore for A Spell of Winter (1996).
• The winner receives a cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze statue known as a ‘Bessie’, created and donated by the artist Grizel Niven. Both are anonymously endowed.

About BAILEYS

BAILEYS and the Prize share a mutual purpose, to celebrate the best female storytellers and share the pleasure of their writing with ever-wider audiences.

BAILEYS was the world’s first cream liqueur, the perfect balancing act of aged Irish whiskey woven with fresh Irish dairy cream, a hint of cocoa and vanilla. It’s also the world’s biggest seller, with over 82 million bottles sold worldwide each year. Every minute of every day over 2000 people around the world are enjoying a BAILEYS.

The BAILEYS word and associated logos are trademarks.

About Diageo:

Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, JεB, Buchanan’s and Windsor whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness.

Diageo is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and our products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. For more information about Diageo, our people, our brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo’s global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice.

Celebrating life, every day, everywhere.

About The Society of Authors:

In 2015, the Society of Authors distributed more than £400,000 in prizes and grants, including over £80,000 in literary prizes. Prizes and Awards at the SoA celebrate authors of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, educational writing, translation and audio drama at every stage of their careers.

The SoA is a trade union for all types of writers, illustrators and literary translators. It has been advising individuals and speaking out for the profession for more than a century.